East Bay Regional Park District Introducing “Free Third Fridays”

In celebration of East Bay Regional Park District’s 80th anniversary, the district is offering a variety of park services for free every third Friday of the month this year, starting April 18.

“On those free Fridays each month, fees will be waived at all 65 parks for parking, boat launching, and entry for horses and dogs. And you won’t have to pay for swimming, district fishing permits, or entry to Ardenwood Historic Farm in Fremont,” said Park District Board President Ayn Wieskamp.

“This is one of the best ways I can think of to express our appreciation to the public for their 80 years of support of our Park District,” said Park District Board President Ayn Wieskamp. “I encourage everyone to please take this opportunity to get out to one of your Regional Parks for free.”

On the free days, boat launchers still will have to pay for the required invasive mussel inspection, and anglers must have a current valid California state fishing license. There will still be fees for camping and for group picnic reservations.

The East Bay Regional Park District is a system of beautiful public parks and trails in Alameda and Contra Costa counties east of San Francisco Bay. The system comprises 114,000+ acres in 65 parks including over 1,200 miles of trails for hiking, biking, horseback riding and nature learning.

If you look at the amounts of the various fees, you can see that they’re hardly an obstacle for most people who wish to use the park facilities. And with the days getting longer, there is plenty of time after school or after work to take advantage of Free Third Fridays.

@3 all good points; however the lure of this offer is to get more people out to enjoy these spaces they pay for with their taxes. Choosing a random weekend or rotating free locations for this offer would have the best benefit for this purpose and could boost overall visits longterm.

A free weekend at the Regional Parks would be mayhem. They’re already packed on Saturdays and Sundays, I can’t imagine the frustration if they were open then for free parking, swimming, fishing, etc. Free on Fridays, fine. Free over the weekend, chaos.